TS EN 13306

TS EN 13306 is a terminology standard that harmonises the core terms and definitions used in maintenance. It is intended to support a common language across the technical, administrative and managerial sides of maintenance work, helping organisations describe maintenance activities, roles and performance with the same meaning. The standard does not cover terms used only for software maintenance.

What the maintenance vocabulary covers

Maintenance is a broad discipline concerned with keeping an asset, piece of equipment or system able to perform its intended function. In general technical practice, key concepts include preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, failure, availability, reliability, maintainability and maintenance policy. As a terminology document, TS EN 13306 brings these concepts together in defined form so they can be used consistently across industries and organisations.

Why consistent terminology matters

In maintenance operations, unclear wording can lead to different interpretations of work orders, failure reports, service levels and management metrics. A shared vocabulary helps align engineers, supervisors, planners and managers, making maintenance processes easier to document and compare. The standard therefore provides a conceptual framework rather than a maintenance method or test procedure.

In broader technical context, maintenance terminology sits close to asset management, reliability engineering and operational continuity. TS EN 13306 serves as a reference for that language, helping users distinguish the administrative, technical and managerial dimensions of maintenance without tying the terms to software-only maintenance.